Westermeerwind Wind Farm Construction Begins

By Eric Haun

Friday, July 25, 2014

Mammoet announced today that Westermeerwind BV has reached financial close on July 25 for the turnkey construction of the Westermeerwind wind farm in Ijsselmeer, meaning work can now start on building the 48 wind turbines.

The Westermeerwind wind farm consists of 48 wind turbines with a capacity of 3 MW to be installed in the water between 500-1,100 meters from the dikes of the Noordoostpolder. The client for the wind farm is Westermeerwind BV, which was founded to develop Westermeerwind at one of the windiest, and accordingly the most energy-efficient, locations in the Netherlands. Installation work is scheduled to start in March 2015. The first turbines are expected to start delivering power to the existing grid at the end of 2015. They will supply sustainable energy for some 160,000 homes.

Siemens concluded a contract in March 2013 for the wind farm to be constructed by a consortium of Ballast Nedam and Mammoet. Ballast Nedam is to design, deliver and install the 48 wind turbine foundations. Mammoet will then transport and install the 48 turbines. The joint contract value for the consortium is approximately $81 million (€60 million).

The intensive collaboration with Siemens, which allowed an integrated approach to design from an early stage, has not only optimized costs, but also achieved certification of the wind farm design prior to financial close. This represents a significant advance in the control of risk and failure costs.

The foundations will be installed in water between 3-7 meters deep. The monopiles for the foundations are 5 m in diameter, have an average length of 40 meters, and weigh between 250-300 metric tons. The wind turbine towers have a direct flange connection with the monopiles with no transition piece, so that the driving operation will be performed on the flange. When the driving work is complete a concrete maintenance platform will be attached and the wind turbines installed. The monopiles will be produced by SIF Group in Roermond, and the pile driver will be supplied by IHC Hydrohammer in Kinderdijk.

Ballast Nedam produces cost-efficient foundation solutions for the offshore wind industry. By integrated design and optimizing logistics and installation methods, Ballast Nedam is supporting the development of offshore wind energy in Europe. Mammoet has substantial experience in the offshore wind industry, including load-outs, transport, weighing and transhipment. Mammoet helps optimize the logistics process in this industry by marshalling, lifting, loading, transporting and installing the large and heavy components that are used in offshore wind farm construction.